References to Arnebeck, Through a Fiery Trial: Building Washington 1790-1800 (published 1991)

 Introduction footnote #15

p. 555

 

Chapter Three footnote #20 Page 33ff
 
 





 
 
Chapter Four footnote #22 on Blodget
 
 








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Table of Contents: Case of the Ingenious A

Image
"Dr. T-" Examined and the Case for the "Ingenious A" "Saturday, Feby 1st a fine day. The ground covered with the deepest snow we have ever seen here (in 5 yrs.) - river frozen over. Dr. T- engaged in drawing at his plan for a House to build one day or another on Sq. 171."     Or Why William Thornton Didn't Design the Octagon House and Isn't the "First Architect of the Capitol"    By Bob Arnebeck author of Through a Fiery Trial: Building Washington 1790-1800 and Slave Labor in Capitol: Building Washington's Iconic Federal Landmarks Introduction:  How Glenn Brown, an architect of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, helped his own career by making William Thornton the most famous American architect of the 18th century.  Chapter One:   A Tale of Two Properties (1755 to 1786) Lancaster, Tortola and a Scientific Education - The roots of Thornton's wealth, his Quaker education, medical degree and mentors  Chapter Two:   Going...
Read more

Introduction

Image
Table of Contents                                                                            Doctor T. Examined, and the Case of the Ingenious A or Why William Thornton Did Not Design the Octagon House or the Capitol by Bob Arnebeck   Introduction   1. William Thornton in 1804 In a riposte to Doctor Thornton,  did the Mayor of Washington hit below the belt?  They had been friends but in their published exchange, Thornton stooped to doggerel:  "The Mayor, Collector of the Taxes, Doctor Blake/ Is a malicious, and insinuating snake...."  The editor of the National Intelligencer tried to police the doctors' back and forth: "The Public and the editor conceive that this sort of BADINAGE to be unsuited to the times and expect it to cease."  It was 1814. The Br...
Read more

Chapter Nine: The Case for the Ingenious A

Image
Table of Contents      Rewriting this chapter   Chapter Nine: The Case for the Ingenious A 116. Law's 1800 house became the fulcrum of the New Varnum Hotel Today, Thornton is a celebrated architect and his fame is not based solely on his Capitol design. Posthumously, Thornton had a stroke of luck. Historians credit him for designing houses built by John Tayloe III, General Washington and Thomas Law. Thornton never claimed that he designed those houses. No contemporary credited him for designing them. But no one else was credited for designing them. Attributing them to Thornton serves the agenda of posterity. As a 1925 New York Times' headline attested, legendary houses have a way have getting attached to legendary architects: “Octagon House Tablet to Exalt Architect; Special Marker to Be Placed on Celebrated Washington Dwelling, Designed by the Many-Sided Thornton, Who Planned the Original Capitol.” However, since his biographers suggest that Thornton concealed his d...
Read more